It was recently announced that the NFL was suspending CB Cameron Sutton for the first eight games on the 2024 season after violating the league Personal Conduct Policy. Sutton was charged with domestic battery early in the offseason, leading to his arrest. He later had the charges dropped, but still faced potential punishment from the league for the incident.
Sutton was expected to step in as Pittsburgh’s starting slot cornerback before the suspension, which will keep him off the field until Oct. 29 following the team’s Week 8 game against the New York Giants. With Sutton out of the lineup, Pittsburgh has been relying on Anthony Averett, Josiah Scott, Grayland Arnold and UDFA Beanie Bishop to take snaps in the slot in their sub-package defense. Averett and Scott have the most experience of the four, but none of these options provide the same experience and caliber of play that the team is losing with Sutton out of the fold for the first two months of the regular season.
With the team reporting to training camp in just a couple of weeks, there are still several slot options available in free agency if Pittsburgh wants to fill the void left by Sutton’s absence with a more experienced veteran. More expensive options like Adoree’ Jackson are still available and have yet to get signed to a roster with training camp rapidly approaching. Jackson had his contract expire this offseason after playing the past three seasons with the Giants, having spent time both outside and in the slot since coming into the league as a first-round pick by the Tennessee Titans in 2017.
Jackson graded out with a poor 48.6 overall grade last season by Pro Football Focus, but ranked above a 70+ overall grade in his previous two seasons in New York. He’s a less likely option given his likely price tag, but Jackson is still a great athlete who provides a similar skill set to Sutton as an inside/outside versatile coverage defender.
Another experienced slot option that is still available outside of the building is CB K’Waun Williams, who had his contract expire this spring after signing with the Denver Broncos in 2021 to a two-year deal worth $5.2 million. Williams is familiar with the Pittsburgh area, playing his college ball at Pitt before going undrafted in 2014, signing with the Chicago Bears as a UDFA. He then found a home in San Francisco where he started 36 games from 2017-2021.
Williams is longer in the tooth than Pittsburgh traditionally likes at 32 years old, but has managed to be a productive slot defender during his career, posting 345 tackles, 23 tackles for loss, 8 sacks, 11 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries, 34 pass defections and 5 interceptions. He should be available for close to the veteran minimum and could provide Pittsburgh a capable slot corner that also brings a similar skill set that Mike Hilton did in run support.
Two other options that Pittsburgh could consider to help contribute at nickel are names that the Steelers are well acquainted with: CBs Patrick Peterson and Chandon Sullivan. Peterson mentioned that he would love to come back to Pittsburgh after being made a cap casualty earlier this offseason. Peterson played 208 slot snaps in 2023, the most during his NFL career after he got moved around more in Pittsburgh’s secondary to make up for his lack of speed on the outside and other injuries in the secondary.
He mentioned this offseason that he could excel at slot corner, and while he isn’t the player he used to be, he has shown to be serviceable in that role for Pittsburgh and would bring back another veteran who has experience and chemistry in Pittsburgh’s defense.
Sullivan played 422 defensive snaps for Pittsburgh last season (37%) and recorded 22 total tackles, a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, 6 pass deflections and an interception in his lone season with the Steelers. He graded out with a 61.2 overall grade by Pro Football Focus and provided serviceable yet uninspiring play during his time on the field.
Still, Sullivan is a veteran who also has experience playing in Pittsburgh’s defense, making him a sensible option that Pittsburgh can bring back on the cheap, should they want to add more competition when training camp begins.
